Editing Neil Hannon (section)

==Early life and education==
Hannon was born in [[Derry]], Northern Ireland, the son of [[Brian Hannon]], a [[Church of Ireland]] minister in the [[Diocese of Derry and Raphoe]] and later [[Bishop of Clogher]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/09/30/news/neil-hannon-the-hardest-thing-for-me-is-to-simplify-712978/|title=Neil Hannon: The hardest thing for me is to simplify|first=Richard|last=Purden|website=The Irish News|date=30 September 2016|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> He spent some of his youth in [[Fivemiletown]] before moving with his family to [[Enniskillen]], in [[County Fermanagh]], in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ireland.anglican.org/archives/pressreleases/prarchive2001/hanpres.html
|title=The Church of Ireland Diocesan Press Release |date=29 October 2003}}</ref> While there, he attended [[Portora Royal School]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Short Site |url=http://www.ashortsite.com/chronology/detail.php?date=392000040 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923121050/http://www.ashortsite.com/chronology/detail.php?date=392000040 |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref>

Hannon grew up in northern Ireland during [[The Troubles]]. He has stated that part of the reason he writes the music he does is to escape that past,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7J3jVF5FYw |title=Neil Hannon 30 Years of The Divine Comedy |publisher=YouTube |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> sharing some of his opinions on the topic in the final song on his 1998 album ''Fin de Siècle'', "[[Sunrise (The Divine Comedy song)|Sunrise]]".{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Hannon enjoyed [[synthesizer]]-based music as a youngster: he has identified [[the Human League]] and [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark|OMD]] as "the first music that really excited [him]". In the late 1980s he developed a fondness of the [[electric guitar]], becoming an "indie kid".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exberliner.com/features/people/neil-hannon-interview/|title='Being an oddball is part of it': The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon|last=Cummings|first=Damien|date=18 October 2019|website=Exberliner|access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref>